BACK-ROAD VIETNAM NORTH-WEST MOTORBIKE TOUR TO HA GIANG

Day 1: Hanoi Motorcycle Tours to Phu Yen (Son La)

Day 2: Phu Yen Motorcycle Tours to Mu Cang Chai (Yen Bai)

Day 3: Mu Cang Chai Motorcycle Tours to Sapa (Lao Cai)

Day 4: Sapa Motorcycle Tours to Bac Ha (Lao Cai)

Day 5: Bac Ha Motorcycle Tours to Ha Giang City

Day 6: Ha Giang Motorcycle Tours to Dong Van (Ha Giang)

Day 7: Dong Van Motorcycle Tours passing Meo Vac to Ba Be National Park

Day 8: Ba Be Motorcycle Tours back to Hanoi

Day 1: Vietnam Back-Road Motorbike Tour to Sapa, Ha Giang, Ba Be Lake: Hanoi Motorcycle Tours to Phu Yen (Son La)

Start our motorbike tour by leaving Hanoi on some light dirt track and backroad to Dong Quang bridge, then we keep rolling beside Da river passing extensive farming lands comprising a sea of paddy till we reach Thanh Son town. After having lunch in Thanh Son we pay a visit to a local beautiful tea plantation nearby for some nice pictures. From here we ride on National Road 32 through vibrant rice fields then take a turn to National Road 37 to Phu Yen via Thu Cuc and Con Pass. There are still opportunities for dirt tracks in the afternoon if you would like to challenge yourselves.

We overnight in a hotel in Phu Yen, a peaceful mountainous town.

Summary:
Distance:  160 km
Meals: Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Hotel

In the morning, we keep motorbiking across Lung Lo pass before heading up on Road 32 . During the First Indochina War, the 15km-long Lung Lo Pass, used by the Vietnamese resistance force to transport weapons, goods and food during the Dien Bien Phu campaign of 1954, was heavily bombed by the French in order to sever the front lines from the rear. Lung Lo Pass, situated in the northern province of Yen Bai, was also recognised as a national heritage by the ministry.

We keep riding through winding roads and beautiful rice terraces to Nghia Lo town via Van Chan. There are chances for us to stop to see green rice fields formed by hard-working local Thai people before lunch in Nghia Lo.

In the afternoon, the wheels are going to take you to a beautiful village called Tu Le, which is famous for producing one of the best sticky rice strains in Vietnam. FYI, sticky rice plays an important part in Vietnam’s agri-based culture, it appears in almost every family’s meals on our traditional holidays. Steamed sticky rice, salt,… are common offerings that we Vietnamese dedicate to our ancestors following our belief in veneration of the dead.

The highlight of today’s ride is Khau Pha pass, one of the four highest passes in Vietnam. Spanning over 30 kilometers, the pass stuns travelers with its beautiful and poetic scenery, where high mountains stand on one side and the other side is a deep valley covered with fluffy white clouds around the year, we will stop at the top of this pass for an incredible view to Tu Le valley before heading to our Mu Cang Chai, our destination of this day.

Mu Cang Chai is home to some of Asia’s most magnificent cultivated topography. Rice terraces coil in ribbons around the hills to spectacular effect, luring photographers, hikers, and avid motorbikers. Mu Cang Chai is not only beautiful because of majestic nature but also the the very unique features of local life here. This place is mainly populated by the Black Hmong, a subgroup of one of Vietnam’s largest ethnicities. Pretty Hmong villages are dotted around the district. Each one offers a glimpse into a rich culture Highland living in Mu Cang Chai is simple and peaceful, making people remember forever. Those are honest, honest, hard working people with the desire to be warm; innocent babies with clear smile and eyes.

We stop at the Mam Xoi Hill of Mu Cang Chai (a famous photo spot in the remote mountains) for some nice pictures and learn about the mountainous lifestyle of local H’Mong people here.

We overnight in a small hotel tonight.

After lunch, we ride through the Mu Cang Chai massif, almost as high as the Fansipan. From the top, it offers one of the most beautiful views of North Vietnam. The ride is challenging but very rewarding.
Overnight in a hotel.

Summary:
Distance:  170 km
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Hotel

Our adventure continues at 9 o’clock after breakfast, we have a morning warm-up by rolling on some backroads nearby and then get some real challenges with beautiful dirt tracks through mountains and H’mong local villages. We will have chance to see how local ethnic people live and work under very harsh conditions of terrain and climate.

After a lunch break in Than Uyen, on a road full of tea farms and rice fields we head to Sapa via the epic O Quy Ho pass. O Quy Ho Pass is one of the most impressive and challenging mountain passes in the northern region of Vietnam. It is approximately 10 kilometers away from the town of Sapa and 60 kilometers away from the city of Lai Chau.

O Quy Ho Pass winds through Hoang Lien Son Mountain Range. Running alongside National Road 4D, the pass stretches for nearly 50 kilometers, with the peak of the pass marking the boundary between the two provinces of Lao Cai and Lai Chau. And when you feel the air getting cooler, see the mist coming from the mountain ranges, that’s when we arrive in Sapa, where we spend the night.

Located at the altitude of 1600 meters above sea level, Sapa is famous for its cool weather, breathtaking scenery and culture diversity with 6 different tribes of people living together. This is also a big town comparing to other destinations on the tour so you can spend your time here for casual entertainment activities like bars, pubs… We stay in a hotel for this night.

Summary:
Distance: 140 km
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Hotel

We have two options for the distance today, a short ride of 100 kilometers and a longer one of 180 kilometers.

With the first option, you have more time to relax in Sapa or do a cable car trip to Fansipan mountain-the highest mountain of Indochina. Depart at 10 or 11 o’clock down from Sapa to Lao Cai City, we will stop at an interesting checkpoint near Vietnamese – Chinese border where you can see China right beyond a river and enjoy a nice coffee, it’s 30 kilometers from Sapa. From here. We head to Road 70 before turn to Bac Ha on Road 153.

The second option offers you a different route with longer distance. From Sapa we follow Road 43d through Lao Cai city to Muong Khuong province, where we can see rice fields surrounded by majestic limestone mountains. From Muong Khuong we roll on the winding road 153 through small villages and plum farms to Bac Ha.

Challenging offroad and dirt tracks are available for both two options

Long touted as the weekend alternative to Sapa, this small highland town doesn’t have the same dramatic location of its more illustrious neighbour, but it is calmer when Saturday comes. Comparing to Sapa, tourism is still in its infancy here and during the week the town has a deserted feel. Bac Ha is a good base to explore the surrounding highlands. Around 900m above sea level, it is noticeably warmer than Sapa.

Overnight in hotel.

Summary:
Distance: 100-170 km
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Hotel

After breakfast, we take a motor ride on the track to Xin Man and Hoang Su Phi on many small backroads with scenic mountain views. Xin Man is right on the border between Vietnam and China. It is, as of this writing, well hidden and completely surrounded by wild mountains and forests. There are a bunch good photo spots on the way from Bac Ha to Xin Man, we will stop for good view down to valleys and rice terraces. Lunch will be served in Hoang Su Phi, this place is among the most untouched area of Ha Giang Province of Vietnam and was separated from the mainstream society until very recently. From Hoang Su Phi we take a winding backroad and immese ourselves in the pristine beauty of the wild mountains and the authentic culture of the local ethnic groups which include: the Nung, the Flower H’mong, the Tay and the Ha Nhi People…After lunch, we join the main road heading up to Ha Giang City,

Summary:
Distance:  200 km
Meals: Breakfast, lunch, dinner
Accommodation: Hotel

After a nice breakfast at 8 o’clock, we get on our iron horses again at about 9 o’clock, the ride today could be both relaxing and challenging since we can enjoy breathtaking landscapes literally on every kilometer of the road. It’s difficult to describe the epic beauty of Ha Giang, it just overwhelms us!

In the morning, we can do some offroad tracks that lead us to beautiful rice terraces and forests. Along the tracks lie some small remote villages and local schools where we have chances to stop to meet local people and lovely kids, we can also do some small charity in these places to share the hardship with them, sharing is caring!

In the afternoon, we head to Tham Ma pass, a legendary pass in local H’mong culture of Ha Giang province, the view from the top of this pass is just spectacular!

The next interesting place to see today is the H’mong King’s Palace (or Vuong Family Palace) located 14 kilometers before Dong Van. In 19th century, a H’mong  family was considered the royal family of H’mong territory in Ha Giang – the Vuong family. Their residence was built in the scenic valley of Sa Phin with a mixed architecture influenced by H’mong, French and Chinese architecture. The whole palace was built out of wood and rock by the best builders and craftsmen, it costed a huge fortune at the time. Vuong family palace is a masterpiece of man work in the valley of heavenly beauty of Ha Giang, built in 1914, the palace survived 2 major wars: the Indochina war and the Vietnam war. As such, Vuong Palace is also treated as a symbol of the past glory of H’mong people.

This is a remote area and we can meet the hard-working local people here. It is inspiring to see how they survive as they manage live in the rocks.When we reach Dong Van Town we will have some extra time to wonder the ancient streets lined with H’mong homes of clay bricks and tiles roofs built centuries ago.

Note: Dong Van, where we spend the night today is the most touristy town on this tour so you can spend a little time to find some bustling corners for entertainment if you want to.

Summary:
Distance: 140 km
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Hotel

The morning ride today will take us to the most beautiful pass in the North of Vietnam, Ma Pi Leng pass. It is really difficult to find the exact words to describe Ma Pi Leng Pass, located between Dong Van and Meo Vac, near the northernmost tip of Vietnam, as a painting of astonishing beauty and magnificence that captures the eyes of all viewers and nature lovers.

If weather allows, we will get in a memorable dirt track where we cross the enchanting Nho Que river on a bamboo raft.

Today we cross the wild regions of the mythical province of Ha Giang, Meo Vac is included. It shares the border with Dong Van District of Ha Giang Province and Bao Lam District of Cao Bang Province. Meo Vac has most of the terrain in the Rock Plateau of Dong Van and above 1000m above sea level.

Meo Vac has a harsh climate in the winter which is from November to April with dry and freezing cold weather. It is inhabited by different ethnic minorities including the H’mong, Tay, Dzao…Most ethnic groups have maintained their culture untouched from the outside world. We finish the ride by taking a boat trip on the verdant Ba Be Lake, the biggest nature lake in Vietnam, at the end of the day we enjoy a nice stay in a homestay of a local Tay family.

Summary:
Distance: 210 km
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Accommodation: Home-stay

Note: This is a very big day, we should start early and ride back carefully on Road 3
After breakfast, take an other boat-ride on Ba Be lake to other side, before jumping on our bikes to Cho Ra, head up to main Road 3.
Ba Be National Park is an abundant bioreserve area containing the world’s only fresh-water karst lake and several rare species of fauna and flora. The biodiverse 10,048 ha park – home to 1,268 species of flora and fauna, a series of caves and a gigantic fresh water lake – was established in 1992 by the Vietnamese Government to preserve forest ecosystems in the northeast.

Ba Be is home to over 3,000 people from the ethnic minorities of Tay, Nung, Dao and Mong, who live in 13 villages within the park. The Tay people have inhabited Ba Be area for centuries and make up 58 per cent of the population within the park’s boundaries.
On Road 3, the way back to Hanoi, traffic is getting worst and worst, so we should be back before rush hour.

Summary:
Distance:  230 km
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch

If you need further details on our updated quotes for such a tour, kindly email us at :

sales@vietnammotorbiketour.co.uk or dnqtravel@gmail.com directly.

* Note: We provide support truck (120$ per day) for emergency and for your safe riding in Vietnam – Most of other tour operators do not offer that. Contact us if you think it’s necessary.

* Note: This trip can be shorter by taking night train from Hanoi to Lao Cai instead motorbiking on first 3 days